Mostly only children believe in Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, and the tooth-fairy --- but millions of adults today believe in a great Saint Paul.
Among those that would stop well-short of sainthood, many would still picture some version of an evangelist and true believer.
I think Paul’s letters reveal a first-century Jewish missionary who promised interested Gentiles an easy short-cut to full participation with the chosen people of the great and ancient God of Israel. And I think Paul wrote those letters to his congregations of potential patrons --- after he had visited with them and gained their interest in his spiritual system.
I have gone back-and-forth for a few years over the question --- was Paul a true believer? Of course, Paul would never admit in his letters if he wasn’t.
I think a more accessible question is this --- was Paul’s primary mission to benefit his followers, or himself? Preachers have to eat, but are there examples in the letters in which the best interest of his flock took a back seat to his quest for monetary compensation? I suppose this set of posts could serve as a prelude.
Paul Was a Criminal
Paul admitted to his most financially supportive congregation that he was imprisoned at an Imperial facility (Philippians 1:13), and in his own inimitable way sought financial assistance (Philippians 2:25-30). I think a careful analysis of Paul’s letters reveals that Paul was imprisoned for a period of time in Ephesus; but regardless of the location, there is no clear indication that Paul was imprisoned specifically for teaching about a Jesus Christ.
Paul was a self-promoter, but the best he could do in this situation was put lipstick on a pig ---
Trying to put a positive spin on his imprisonment, Paul only managed to make a woefully vague claim that the guards knew something about his “bonds in Christ”. But Paul never claimed that he was arrested for teaching about Jesus Christ. Paul bragged that his imprisonment has allowed others “to dare more abundantly to speak fearlessly the word”. If Paul had been imprisoned specifically for teaching about a Jesus Christ, his bonds would certainly not have encouraged his followers to more confidently and fearlessly engage in the same activity.
Paul’s imprisonment may have been, or perhaps even most likely was, related to his evangelizing activities. Unfortunately, there is no clear evidence in Paul’s letters to clarify the reason for his arrest. But there is no clear evidence in the letters to indicate that Paul was ever punished by Roman authorities for teaching about his Jesus Christ.
And beyond his imprisonment, Paul claimed that sometime in the past he had been repeatedly and publicly punished by both Jewish and Roman authorities. Such punishments were meted-out to those convicted of breaking some kind of law ---
First a Jewish punishment ---
And also a typical punishment from Roman authorities –--
I suspect exaggeration here, but Paul bragged about his marks to the Galatians as if they were well aware of them (Galatians 6:17). Some of the Galatians probably saw his scars with their own eyes when they cared for him when he was sick (Galatians 4:13-14).
Paul never clearly revealed in his letters the reasons for his floggings. There is no evidence in his letters that Paul had received such punishments as a result of his work teaching about a Jesus Christ, nor even for having been flogged during the time of his evangelizing work. I suspect most or all of those punishments preceded his missionary activities.
Paul was in over his head with the sophisticated Corinthians. After Titus returned from his second unsuccessful attempt to obtain a collection for the ‘saints in Jerusalem’, some among the Corinthians were apparently accusing Paul and Titus of trying to take advantage of them, and of being crafty and of trying to take them by deceit (2 Corinthians 12:16-17).
robert j
Next up momentarily --- Paul Was a Liar